Two world premieres highlight 2012 Fall Dance Concert Nov. 7-11

The dancers of SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts have worked an entire semester to bring the community the 2012 Meadows Fall Dance Concert, Nov. 7-11. This year’s show features two world premieres as well as a restaged work.

Choreographer Bruce Wood working with a student at rehearsal (photo by Brian Hwu)

The premiere of Le Coeur de Ballet was choreographed by Mel Tomlinson. Described as a “romantic celebration of the feminine,” this homage to ballet blanc features 12 dancers in white tutus and is set to Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 and his “Polonaise” from Eugene Onegin. Tomlinson is a former soloist with the New York City Ballet and is an award-winning dancer and choreographer.

The second premiere of the night is Zing a Little Zong, a new work set to classic American songs choreographed by Bruce Wood. The piece is a mixture of ballet and contemporary dance and will feature live music by Gary Floyd and Denise Lee. Wood lives in Dallas and is the artistic director and choreographer of the Bruce Wood Dance Project.

The Meadows troupe will also perform a restaging of Getting There, choreographed by Billy Siegenfeld, in which the dancers depict an evolution from isolation to a sense of community set to music by Thelonious Monk and Count Basie. Siegenfeld is the founder and artistic director of Chicago’s Jump Rhythm Jazz Project.

“Once you get on the stage you feel the success and joy of working so hard throughout the semester,” says Meadows dancer Aubry Neal. Performances will be held in the Bob Hope Theatre of the Owen Arts Center and take place at 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $7 each for faculty, staff and students.